Street vendors to be studied

Survey will gauge opinions about downtown food carts

John Singleton Jr. is one of two vendors with a permit to operate a food cart in downtown Naperville. (Kristy Kennedy, Special to the Tribune)

Sometime before summer is out, a survey will gauge public opinion on food carts in downtown Naperville.

The information then will be used by the Downtown Advisory Commission as it decides their fate. Two vendors, Joey's Red Hots and John's Rib House, have permits through the end of the year.

The survey likely will involve directly talking to people using the Riverwalk and possibly a series of online questions, said Linda LaCloche, communications manager for the city. The Downtown Naperville Alliance has weighed in on the survey, suggesting questions like: Do the vendors show up? Are they being a good steward by keeping their space clean and providing a good product? Have they modified behavior? Were customers planning to go to another restaurant in downtown Naperville and opt for food cart fare instead?

That last question is perhaps the biggest concern of downtown business owners, said Katie Wood, executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance. "Do I think a hot dog is going to replace sitting down at Sullivan's (Steakhouse)?" Wood asked. "No, but it might keep someone from visiting a Chipotle or Subway." And those businesses must pay rent and survive the winter months when downtown Naperville isn't as busy, she said.

Both food cart owners said they are serving a niche crowd not catered to by business owners.

"Most of my clients are moms with strollers and kids, river walkers and people walking their dogs," said Joe Hornbaker of Joey's Red Hots, who operates on the Riverwalk near the fountain. While he conceded some might have gone to a downtown fast-food restaurant, most buy from him out of convenience and maybe would have gone home before wrangling their children over to a restaurant or figuring out what to do with their dogs.

Meanwhile, John Singleton Jr. of John's Rib House, said he does the bulk of his business with the late-night bar crowd after most restaurants are closed, selling hot link sausages, pulled pork sandwiches and steak sandwiches outside the parking garage on Chicago Avenue near Washington Street.

"I don't think I'm competing at all," he said. In fact, nearby business managers and employees frequent his stand, he said. On a typical weekend night, he'll sell about 50 food orders from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Singleton, who owns a rib restaurant in Lisle, also operates the cart during lunch hours some days of the week.

Customers enjoy the novelty of the food carts, taking pictures of them and commenting that they've never seen them in the suburbs, Singleton said. Both vendors said the location of their carts is vital to their success. Hornbaker, running his cart for the fifth summer, said he almost went out of business earlier this year when his permit set his location at Fredenhagen Park, located at Washington Street and the DuPage River on the east extension of the Riverwalk.

"I literally watched traffic drive by and would see herds of people walking across the street and at night, I was standing in the dark," Hornbaker said. "People don't stray from their path." Now, that his location is back at the fountain, Hornbaker's business is up to about 60 hot dogs a day from about 10.

Chris Finck, chairman of the Downtown Naperville Alliance Foundation who also owns Little Luxuries, said he likes the idea of a festive atmosphere downtown. But he feels the food carts have an unfair advantage because they have prime locations for the cost of a permit rather than rent and also can choose not to work during slow times. He also is concerned the food carts leave the sidewalks messy.

"We've worked hard to make downtown Naperville unlike any other downtown," Finck said. "The council has good intent, but this is misguided and puts a strain on businesses. It's unfair business competition."